BGSU :: Departments :: Popular Culture

Popular Culture

Bachelor of Arts Degree Program

Popular Culture Major and Minor Requirements for Students Entering the College of Arts and Sciences Beginning Fall, 2001

In addition to the General Education Core Curriculum, the Popular Culture Major consists of 36 credit hours (a minor of your choice is also required):
Required Courses:
POPC 160 Introduction to Popular Culture or POPC 165 Popular Culture and Media (Credit for both may not be used towards the major)/3 credits
POPC 170 Black Popular Culture/3 credits
POPC 260 Popular Culture Research/3 credits
POPC 300 Topics in International/Global Popular Culture/3 credits
POPC 480 Senior Seminar in Popular Culture/3 credits
One of the following: POPC 250 Introduction to Popular Film; POPC 270 Introduction to Contemporary Popular Literature; POPC 280 Introduction to Popular Music; POPC 290 Television as Popular Culture (Students who wish to minor in "Folklore and Folklife" must select TWO courses from this list)/3 credits
One of the following: POPC 220 Introduction to Folklore and Folklife; POPC 320 Folktale and Legend; POPC 321 Folklife and Material Culture; POPC 325 The Folk Group/Folk Region; POPC 424 Folklore Genres (Students who wish to minor in "Folklore and Folklife" may omit this requirement)/3 credits
One of the following: POPC 350 Advanced Studies in Popular Film; POPC 370 History of Popular Literature; POPC 380 Contexts of Popular Music; POPC 460 Popular Culture Advanced Studies/3 credits
One of the following: POPC 365 Youth in Popular Culture; POPC 426 Popular Entertainments/3 credits
Plus 9 additional popular culture credit hours (6 of which must be at the 300 or 400 level)/9 credits

Please Note: No more than 3 hours of POPC 490 Problems in Popular Culture, may be counted towards the major requirements and no more than 3 hours of POPC 395 Workshop on Current Topics, may be counted towards the major requirements.

Please also note the department cannot guarantee all courses will be offered each year.

Course Descriptions:

POPC 160 Introduction to Popular Culture (3). Basic theories of, approaches to and topics within popular culture; several selected topics and use of various theories and approaches.

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POPC 165 Popular Culture and Media (3). Some of the ways in which mass media (TV, film, recording industry, print, radio) have affected modern American culture. Media relationships and interactions.

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POPC 170 Black Popular Culture (3). Basic theories of approaches to 20th century African-American popular culture. Traces ways black popular culture has shaped and is shaped by American society. Examines relationship of race, ethnicity, gender and class.

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POPC 220 Introduction to Folklore and Folklife (3). Study and collecting of folklore: ballads, myths, tall tales, heroes, folk medicines, superstitions, proverbs and crafts.

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POPC 231 Studies in Popular Culture (1-3). Study of theme, era or issue in popular culture. Subject matter designated in class schedule. May be repeated if topics differ.

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POPC 250 Introduction to Popular Film (3). Popular film as mass entertainment medium; Hollywood studios, popular film formulae, genres, relationships between popular films and movie-going audience; viewing of appropriate films.

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POPC 260 Popular Culture Research (3). Examines different methods of popular culture research and theories on which they are based. Application of course concepts to contemporary issues in popular culture.

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POPC 270 Introduction to Contemporary Popular Literature (3). Popular literary formulae, publishing industry, relationship between popular literature and reading public, functions of popular literature in society.

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POPC 280 Introduction to Popular Music(3). Relationship between music world and listening-viewing audience; musical styles, trends in popular music, popular performers and entertainers and what they reveal about popular culture; appropriate music listening.

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POPC 290 Television as Popular Culture (3). Relationship between popular television programming and American society; viewing of appropriate television.

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POPC 300 Topics in International/Global Popular Culture (3). In-depth study of international and/or global aspects of everyday life and popular culture: consumer culture, mass media, entertainment, migration, technology, etc. Areas may include Ireland, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Canada. May be repeated to nine hours if topics differ.

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POPC 320 Folktale and Legend (3). Intensive examination and collecting of oral narratives; theory and methods of collecting, organizing and interpreting such material of folktales, urban belief tales, supernatural legends, narrative jokes, tall tales, etc.; analysis of folk mythology.

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POPC 321 Folklife and Material Culture (3). Study and analysis of nonverbal folklife; theory and methods of analysis of such forms of expressive folk culture as arts, crafts, architecture, foodways, festivals, customs and folk rituals; emphasis on modes of description and analysis commonly used by folklorists to understand and explain such materials.

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POPC 325 The Folk Group/Folk Region (3). Intensive study of a single folk group or the folklore of a specific region (e.g., Women's Folk Culture, Folklore of the Great Lakes Region, etc.). Emphasis on the function of various types of folklore within the group or region. May be repeated once if content clearly differs.

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POPC 350 Advanced Studies in Popular Culture (3). In-depth study of a particular aspect of popular film: single genre, particular director, specific studio, etc. May be repeated once if topics are different; viewing of appropriate films.

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POPC 365 Youth and Popular Culture (3). History, theory, and perceptions of youth cultures and subcultures. Young peoples' distinctive roles as audience, producers, and consumers of popular cultures. Topics may include comparative youth cultures, music, new media, fashion, and everyday life.

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POPC 370 History of Popular Literature (3). Detective, science fiction, western, mystery, best sellers, poetry, magazine fiction.

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POPC 380 Contexts of Popular Music (3). In-depth investigation into single aspect of popular music: specific popular music genres, specific popular music themes, popular music industry, etc. May be repeated to nine hours if topics differ.

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POPC 395 Workshop on Current Topics (1-3). Intensive educational experience on selected topics. Typically, an all-day or similar concentrated time format. Requirements usually completed within expanded time format.

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POPC 424 Folklore Genres (3). Intensive study and collecting of a single folk genre or distinctive type of folk materials (e.g., American Folk Music, Ethnic Foodways in America, The Urban Belief Tale, etc.). Emphasis on theory and method of collection and analysis. May be repeated once if content differs clearly.

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POPC 426 Popular Entertainments (3). Cultural significance of popular entertainments, past and present; circuses, carnivals, parades, vaudeville, professional and amateur sports, camping, etc.

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POPC 460 Popular Culture Advanced Studies (3). In-depth study of particular problem: development of hero in popular arts, cultural analysis of popular film, cultural analysis of popular music, etc. May be repeated once if subject matter is different.

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POPC 470 Studies in Popular Literature (3). In-depth study of a particular aspect of popular literature such as by genre (horror, science fiction, comic books, romance), author, or historical period. May be repeated once if topics clearly differ.

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POPC 480 Senior Seminar in Popular Culture (3). Seminar for seniors in POPC program. Selected topics approached from several points of view.

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POPC 485 Fieldwork in Folklore Studies (2). Supervised independent collecting project intended as a senior seminar. Advanced students, under close supervision of one or more faculty, develop and carry out intensive exercise in collecting a specific form of folk material.

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POPC 490 Problems in Popular Culture (1-3). For advanced student. Independent study. Prerequisites: six hours of POPC courses and consent of the department chair and instructor by 12th week of semester preceding the term in which the course is to be taken. May be repeated to eight hours.

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Last updated 12/22/2005